Blades drawn to defy Prem snobs

SHEFFIELD UNITED will be subjected to Premier League snobbery this season.

There’s an English manager in charge, straight-talking, spiky and no-nonsense.

Chris Wilder (below) has a team of hardworking, disciplined lads some of whom have gone the full journey from League One... to beating Arsenal last Monday.

They are organised, run hard, tackle hard and don’t mind grafting for their team-mates.

Some, like West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini, who United visited yesterday, say that is “totally English football”.

The Hammers boss rather sniffily said: “They play a typical style – direct football. Strong players who work, with a lot of balls inside the box aiming to win the first or the second ball.”

Pellegrini’s assessment may be accurate, but panders to the mood that today’s globally watched, multinational, multi-lingual Premier League is now a station above the traditional values of the English game.

There is nothing glam about the Blades.

No room for bling and boasting at Bramall

Lane.

And that is their strength. Grounded manager, grounded side, exploiting core values and a strong identity.

It’s wrong to say they don’t play ‘good football’. Watch passages of play from their win against Arsenal and there is plenty of swift and skilful attackbuilding.

Just because a side is considered mean at the back – packed full of English and Irish lads, with only a couple of “foreigners” – doesn’t mean they can’t play.

Wilder will be one of the managers of the season if he can keep United up – and they are already a third of the way to safety.

He won’t give a stuff about cliched labels as long as they can score a few more goals and maintain a sound defensive record.